ã€ŠAdventures in amnesiaã€‹


 A death and fresh start.

    Two armies stood formed some distance away. They encountered on the crossing of river Emot. On the invading side stood the massive army of the coalition comprised mostly from drafted men with little training. The coalition grouped several kingdoms and while officially called a coalition of was a fully fledged empire which forced the nations it conquered to join unconditionally. The army of Emot¡¯s kingdom, which took the name from the river that crosses the capital, was mostly volunteers with training. Although the coalition had bigger numbers overall they were matched.

    Prudan watched his men; they all knew this harassment mission was dangerous but vital. He was wearing a breastplate, shin guards, gauntlets, a sallet and a blue armband that marked his status as the party leader. Every piece of armor was engraved to strengthen the body of the wearer. They were the standard equipment of someone who was part of Emot¡¯s magical corps. The green gambeson he wore under the breastplate showed the colors of Emot.

    Emot unlike other countries focused on training magical soldiers meaning people with martial arts and magical arts. Although magic was common and accessible to anyone only few countries trained their soldiers in anything more than basic magic protection. That was because magic was a force multiplier but it required training and time to be effective not to mention it was not almighty. While a magic soldier would beat two normal soldiers of the same skill they would be overpowered by three. This was what common sense dictated of course there were cases above and below the norm.

    Prudan¡¯s unit was making its way on the forest west of the crossing looking for a way to cross the river. They intended to conduct a skirmishing action against the rearguard of the coalition¡¯s army. Sometime after they safely and covertly crossed they river a roar filled the sky it was a war horn. The ground shook and trembled over the sound of thousands of feet marching in unison.

    The battle had begun.

    Without wasting time Pudan¡¯s unit which consisted of 20 magic soldiers set off to harass the enemy. They located the left flank of the coalition phalanx and started shooting their missile type magic. Even though they suffered some casualties the phalanx pressed on moving.

    On the other side of the crossing the Emot¡¯s army was in a horseshoe formation around the area shallow enough to walk. The plan was to hold the enemy while the skirmishing parties hit the exposed flanks of the enemy.

    Sadly the coalition wasn¡¯t stupid enough not to respond to the threat and soon multiple small encounters developed between the Emot skirmishers and coalition forces.

    Prudan could see a group of enemy soldier part from the main force they objective was to intercept Prudan¡¯s group no doubt. He knew that if it degenerated into a melee they were going to lose so he decided to thin their numbers from a distance, he then quickly ordered his men to scatter and to fight the enemy while peppering them with magic. The enemy group consisted of approximately 50 soldiers.

    The enemy group kept advancing despite the barrage. Although they had magic defense some 10 men had fallen. Now they were some 20 meters away and closing.

    A soldier clad in red charged towards Prudan. He quickly shot an ice lance at his enemy to disrupt his charge. Because his momentum was too great the soldier took the lance head on and stumbled a little, not enough to fall but he had lost the initiative. Now Prudan swung his mace aiming at the left leg of the soldier, the blow was parried. Swiftly the squad leader prepares a water ball and launches it against the soldier¡¯s face, the soldier flinches; using the opening the squad leader unleashed an overhead strike killing his opponent. After all there are not many people who can survive a mace hit to the head.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    He had however no time to rest as there were two more soldiers rushing towards him. He side stepped the first blow that aimed for his shoulder, and countered with an icy lance, he had prepared as soon as he saw the charging soldiers, at point-blank range aimed at the chest of the enemy soldier. One down; the other one took a defensive posture while closing the distance. The soldier launched a sweeping strike, Prudan parried with his mace and while trying to shoot a water ball at the enemy (because it took too much time to prepare an ice lance) he was shield bashed. He staggered a little but soon regained his balance. The enemy soldier stabbed at Prudan, but he dodged and struck the soldier¡¯s arm. The soldier receded in pain; not losing the opening Prudan delivered the finishing blow.

    He took a moment to ascertain the situation. He saw most of his men engaged in at least a 2v1. Luca, with whom he had served two monster extermination campaigns, was cut down. At least he took 3 men to hell along with them he never was anything if not a sore loser.

    Knowing his unit was doomed if they stayed he shouted at his men ¡°RETREAT¡±; while preparing a wide area magic. A blizzard to be more precise. Because wide area magic doesn¡¯t distinguish between friend and foe it is rarely used in battle as most of them are centered on the caster. He intended to buy time for his men to retreat back into the front lines along with the rest of the skirmishing parties. He charged straight into the enemy formation; the coalition¡¯s soldiers could not believe their eyes. All they saw was a men running towards them with a dangerous fire in his eyes.

    As soon as he reached the soldiers on the front he released the blizzard at the same time he was stabbed by a lance. A deafening roar could be heard; then an explosion that sent the soldiers of the phalanx flying. Prudan had strong magic but not that strong. Unbeknownst to him he had attacked the supply corps of the enemy and they were carrying magic crystals which worked like gunpowder. When the blizzard hit a crystal it detonated creating a chain reaction. Either way he was happy at the destruction and confusion he had sown.

    He could see his man making their way to allied lines. Emot¡¯s amry took the chance given by the explosion to charge the disorganized enemy formation. Although they suffered heavy casualties the coalition army rallied and prepared the defense.

    When Prudan returned to his senses. His armor had fallen, or maybe he had taken it off. He could feel a hot burning sensation on his back as if he was being branded with an iron. He realized his wounds were fatal and while stumbling towards the enemy army a smile flashed on his face knowing his comrades were safe; then he fell unconscious on the riverbed. As his consciousness faded he heard a voice.

    ¡°If you die now it¡¯s no fun¡­¡±

    Prudan could not make sense of what was said but it didn¡¯t matter to him.

    Little did he know he was later considered a hero for his actions (although the story might have been exaggerated) on that battle. With the king of Emot going as far as naming a medal after him. Well it didn¡¯t matter to him honors for dead men are meaningless to the men; he was already dead so he couldn¡¯t bask in the glory.

 Who am I? And is that a bear?

    ¡°The battle?!¡±

    I woke up gasping. Wait which battle was it again?

    Actually where am I? Looking around I it looks like a hut made of wooden logs.

    Wait a second who am I? I look at myself. I have toned muscles, not to the level of Arnie but they are there. I can also feel mana flowing inside my body; I try moving it around a little. It seems I¡¯m capable of at least basic mana manipulation. Because I¡¯m sitting I don¡¯t know how tall I am but I would hazard I¡¯m somewhere in the vicinity of 1.80 meters. Of course I can¡¯t see my face but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll need a mask because of how handsome I am¡­ who am I kidding I probably have an average face. Feeling it with my hands doesn¡¯t give me a clear image. Speaking about my hands; on the ring finger of my left hand there¡¯s a gold ring. It seems to have some letters carved on it; the letters are ¡°E.K.3rd.M.C.Prudan¡±

    Okay let¡¯s start with what I know 3rd that¡¯s what comes after 2nd great. I made the most useless observation in the history of Glist. Glist is the name of the world by the way but who doesn¡¯t know that.

    Well back to the point I see a name among the letters perhaps that¡¯s my name and the rest are my surnames. Would that make me a noble? Or maybe that¡¯s the name of the manufacturer. Well either way it¡¯s my name now.

    Having decided on my name; I went back to answering my second question. Where am I? Now I pay more attention to my surroundings. I seem to be on top of a bed there are some bandages on the floor. I can feel the unmistakable aroma of meat being roasted. Drawn by the fragrance I look in the direction of its origin.

    Then I saw it, that which I shouldn¡¯t have seen. A monster as tall as a mountain, its back as wide as the sky, with raven black fur. There was no way that was a human. That is most definitely a bear.

    Bears are smart animals it wouldn¡¯t be strange for one to learn how to cook. Wait is it cooking for me or going to cook me¡­

    While I was lost deep in my delusions the bear turned towards me. It flashed a smile and said:

    ¡°Oh, you are awake¡± {bear}

    It spoke; then again bears are very smart¡­

    Maybe it¡¯s time I face reality and admit this titanic living being is a person.

    Ignoring my surprised expression it/he continued.

    ¡°My daughter and I found you unconscious and badly wounded by the river bed; you were clinging to that mace over there like your life depended on it¡± {bear}

    Following the fingers that pointed towards a corner of the room I could see a 60cm flanged mace. It appears to be mine, maybe I stole it? I don¡¯t know and like with the name now it too is mine.

    ¡°Fortunately my wife has a light aura which made healing you easy¡± {bear}

    Auras huh I seem to remember people with light auras had an easier time learning healing and protection magic. I wonder what my aura is like.

    ¡°But where are my manners I¡¯m Roloth but most people call me bear¡± {Ro}

    He said while brandishing a smile so bright my eyes started hurting, and here I was thinking he was some wild, yet highly intelligent, beast.

    ¡°Although my memory seems to have some blank spaces; my name is Prudan¡± {Pr}

    Well it doesn¡¯t have some blank spaces I can¡¯t recall anything other than practical knowledge.

    ¡°Ah, that is a rare name for a young man like you, that name was very popular seventy years ago. I bet there¡¯s not a single man from that generation that was not called Prudan¡± {Ro}

    So according to Roloth the name I chose is popular old man name well whatever. I hope I don¡¯t stand out too much.

    ¡°Do you know why it was so popular?¡±{Pr}

    Feeling curious I asked, that way I could also get some info on the region.

    ¡°70 years ago there was a great battle on the river crossing of Emot river; Prudan was the legendary hero who single-handedly destroyed the coalition army or so the tale goes¡±

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.I see so a lot of boys got named after the hero of a battle seventy years ago. As if naming him like the hero will make the boy more courageous or something. I can clearly imagine a conversation between boys on those days would have been a nightmare.

    Boy1- Hey Prudan wanna go to Prudan¡¯s house?

    Boy2- Sure thing Prudan.

    Man what a nightmare.

    While my thoughts wander in a weird direction Roloth asked me a question that brought me back to reality.

    ¡°So are you an adventurer or a mercenary? Your body has too many scars to be that of a merchant or a craftsman.¡±{Ro}

    Well right now I¡¯m nothing, a blank slate if you will. So why not, I¡¯ll become an adventurer and live as freely as humanly possible. I¡¯ve always been carefree from the moment of my first memory until now (which was 15 minutes at most). That being said I don¡¯t have the faintest idea of how to become one and what one does.

    ¡°I might become one; I don¡¯t have any memories so any profession is good¡± {Pr}

    Oops the truth slipped out well I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll care. Now then how do I become an adventurer?

    ¡°So you remember nothing huh? Well, you¡¯ll have to get a permit from the guard in town. I¡¯ll take you tomorrow as I have to sell some pelts¡± {Ro}

    Well that answers that.

    All this time I had been seated on the bed, but my legs were starting to feel numb. I wanted to walk. I checked under the covers to see if I was naked; fortunately I had pants on. I stood up and stretched a little.

    ¡°Do you have some clothes and or shoes I can use?¡±{Pr}

    Although I had pants my chest was bare, same with my feet. Roloth pointed to a mended green gambeson and a pair of boots.

    ¡°You had those on when we found you. My wife mended the gambeson there were cuts here and there¡± {Ro}

    Here and there was a little bit of an understatement. The gambeson had so many patches it looked like a cow, a military kind of cow given that the patches formed a kind of camouflage pattern. But you don¡¯t a gifted horse¡¯s mouth and you don¡¯t look at a mended gambeson¡¯s patches.

    ¡°Also where is the river?¡±{Pr}

    I want to know what my face looks like, the reflection on the river should give me enough of an idea. I will also use the outing to test my abilities a little.

    ¡°Walk while heading east and it should be a 15 minute walk.¡±{Ro}

    I picked up the mace resting on the wall. It had Palma Solaris carved on it. Somehow those words had a lonely and melancholic feel to them. Could it had been the name of my lover before I lost my memory; I guess I¡¯ll never know. Without minding too much I went outside.

    I gave the mace a few swings, it felt balanced and powerful. I was in good shape at least in this department. Next let¡¯s cast a spell. I begin concentrating mana on my left hand once I feel I have enough I picture a ball of water flying out of my hand. Puff a water ball flew a couple of meters and hit the ground. Well missile type magic is simple all you do is gather mana, give it an element and an image and you are done for the most part. It¡¯s relatively basic. That said the hardest part is mana manipulation as it is the moving of energies inside your body. More advanced magic requires increased levels of concentration which I don¡¯t have the energy of achieving. I¡¯ll leave the studying to the scholars.

    I started to walk in the direction of the river. Please spirits, gods anything don¡¯t let me have a bad face. As I approached the river my anxiety rose, well nothing ventured anything gained. I gathered my courage and saw my reflection in the water. Brown eyes, brown with flashes of red short hair, a typical western European face. I had a face so unremarkable that its lack of a prominent feature might have been its most prominent feature. At least I don¡¯t have the face of a monster. Sadly I won¡¯t be capturing the heart of any maiden either.

 The bearéˆ¥æªš cub.

    I was happily testing my abilities. I appear to be on an intermediate magical level. I¡¯m past the basics but nowhere near mastering the stuff. As for the mace well it¡¯s a mace although technique is required it is nowhere near as complex as sword play. Anyway I was practicing my magic chants and mace techniques when I heard a noise of rustling leaves.

    From a nearby bush two dots were looking my way. A monster how exciting! A chance to test my skills on a live opponent appears before me. Wait I just woke up wouldn¡¯t jumping straight into a fight be reckless not to say stupid?

    Nobody ever accused me of being smart so here goes nothing. I move towards the rustling bush; if I were smart I would have used magic to flush the creature out, but I¡¯m not so I didn¡¯t. Remind me to do that next time.

    ¡°So you are the one we found.¡± {xxx}

    A feminine voice came from the bush. Haha now who is laughing if I had used magic I would have killed one of my saviors; jokes on you imaginary me telling me I¡¯m a stupid. Mmm¡­ maybe something did break in my brain, well no use crying over spilt milk.

    ¡°Could you come out I feel weird if my conversation partner is a bush.¡± {Pr}

    I told what I assumed to be a girl to show herself. What¡¯s with stalking me like I¡¯m some defenseless elk. I¡¯m not prey well at least I would like to get to know you better before deciding anything. Invite me to dinner first or at least buy me a coffee.

    ¡°Oh, sure¡­ yeah¡­¡± {xxx}

    ¡°A great first impression.¡± {xxx}

    She said awkwardly; she also muttered something but I could not hear it maybe she was captivated by my beautiful personality. And dashing appearance but who am I to blame someone for following their instincts. Ok I¡¯ll stop now before I inflict more damage on my dignity.

    Out came a person; she is taller than me by about 5 cm, appears to be around my age on the younger side, has black hair and because she seems to be shy I cannot see her eyes. She has a well-proportioned but tough looking body it may be the consequence of all those years hunting with her father the bear. She has the curves a woman should have but not enough that she would stand out for her beauty. She has a sword hanging by her waist, maybe she practices martial arts.

    ¡°Umm¡­.¡± {xxx}

    She¡¯s looking here and there, looks at me then the ground after that the trees. Now I know why she was hiding in the bush. I¡¯m not a monster; I don¡¯t bite unless whatever I¡¯m biting smells like a chicken croquet. Well I¡¯ll better take the initiative or this will go nowhere.

    ¡°Hello, my name is Prudan well at least I believe it is anyway nice to meet you I heard from you father that I owe you half of my life¡± {Pr}

    ¡°¡­.¡± {xxx}

    ¡°So what might your name be? I could come up with one and I promise it will be silly.¡± {Pr}

    When I threatened to give her a silly name she tensed up. Speaking to her is like speaking to a deer you never know when she¡¯ll make a run for it. She should be handled sensibly but going back to my previous statement no one ever accused me of being smart.

    ¡°Ofni¡­¡± {xxx}

    ¡°¡­my name is Ofni¡­.¡± {xxx}

    Would you look at that I got a name out of her. It¡¯s just a hunch but I think if I spar with her she might open up a little. This is in no way a justification for my desire to test myself. The mere idea of it would be a stain upon my honor. Besides I doubt a conversation would get very far.

    ¡°Say Ofni I can¡¯t help but notice the sword hanging from you waist would you care to have a friendly spar with me?¡± {Pr}

    As if switching gears she looked at me square in the eyes. Fire burning deep in her eyes; maybe I am her prey indeed. I think I might have ended up washed up on a river bed because of my way with words. Maybe I picked a fight and got utterly crushed.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± {Ofni}

    Sure about what it¡¯s not like I asked her hand in marriage, wait it¡¯s not one of those local customs that goes a man might only marry a woman after he defeated in a fair fight kind of deal right?

    ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± {Pr}

    ¡°No.¡± {Of}

    ¡°Well then let¡¯s have a fair fight, should we fight with or without magic?¡± {Pr}

    ¡°With.¡± {Of}

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report itAfter agreeing on the terms with lady I¡¯m-charged-per-word; we put some distance between each other. I create a water mace, although it is as solid as palma solaris upon contact with the body it should dissolve. It is lighter though because well it¡¯s made of water not metal. She fashions an earth sword, so she specialized in earth magic that¡¯s uncommon for a fighter. I guess its properties are the same as my mace.

    As an element earth magic¡¯s offensive power consisted of launching bigger boulders and not much else. It is useful to build things and for defensive purposes. I¡¯m attuned to water magic according to my earlier experiments. It¡¯s a jack of all trades master of none, it has flexible offensive and defensive power but it suffers in comparison to fire and earth respectably. To use magic efficiently people usually chose an element and used the chanting formulas to attune the mana to the desired element this in turn made using other elements more wasteful, not impossible but less effective. The chants, which worked like meditation, also served to increase the mana pool.

    As soon as the fight started her expression changed. I could see in her eyes a determination that told me defeat was impossible for her; if I were fighting her with my life on the line I would be terrified as it is now I¡¯m just scared. I launched a blunt ice spear aimed at center mass; she shifted her pose a little to the left evading the missile as if dancing. She rushed me and unleashed a diagonal downwards cut, I deflected the blow, which had considerable strength, and closed the distance. Her sword is longer than my mace distancing myself would be my defeat. I aimed at her shoulder again she shifted left and I was elbowed on the stomach. While I took the blow she distanced herself. I launched a water ball at her while closing the distance once more.

    As I was preparing my attack she reached for her back. She pulled a stone dagger as she threw her sword at me. She is not trying to kill me is she? I created a water wall to deflect the flying sword. Quickly rushing behind the sword was Ofni with her dagger in hand. She is way too fast. Because the water wall impeded her vision I used the chance so side step out of way. She dashed past me.

    I widened the distance between us and started creating an ice buckler. The hexagonal buckler had a snowflake in the center which reached the rim of the shield. With my current speed I will not be able to maintain the distance. That said she doesn¡¯t seem to rely on magic too much. She picked her sword back up and took her stance back. I prepared an ice lance; she tends to prefer dodging left for what I¡¯ve seen so here goes nothing. I launched the lance towards her while preparing another as soon as possible and launching that one to the left where her body would be if my prediction was right. She shifted left and once she saw the second lance it was too late. She got hit on her right shoulder. Oops it seems I estimated that she was wider if I¡¯m lucky she won¡¯t notice.

    The hit staggered her I took the opening and landed a nice clean hit to her ribs.

    ¡°I¡­ got¡­ you.¡± {Pr}

    I said while panting, man she is tough. Way too tough! I got lucky I noticed she tends to dodge left.

    While pointing at my stomach and smiling brightly as if the fidgeting figure before was a lie she says.

    ¡°We killed each other.¡± {Of}

    Looking at my stomach was a dagger held by a hand which connected to her body. When did she stab me?

    ¡°You fight well Prudan, I¡¯ve never seen magic and martial arts so closely woven together almost like the magical corps of old.¡± {Of}

    ¡°Although I have no memory of what I used to do. It looks like the previous me trained properly. I see you don¡¯t use magic while in combat.¡± {Pr}

    ¡°No, as I live out here I don¡¯t have the money to learn magic.¡± {Of}

    So if you want to learn magic you have to pay for the chanting formula. Well that makes sense I would guess magicians that dedicate to research and teaching have to live somehow.

    ¡°Well looks like you can talk. I look forward to training with you, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±{Pr}

    When I said that she returned to her newborn fawn ways. Why are you getting shy all of a sudden after going berserk in our fight?

    ¡°So¡­ you don¡¯t remember¡­ anything¡­ before you woke up?¡± {Of}

    ¡°Nope, nothing¡± {Pr}

    ¡°What¡­ will you¡­ do now?¡±{Of}

    ¡°I plan on taking it easy and live as an adventurer¡± {Pr}

    I smiled at Ofni who turned her gaze to the ground. After that we started making our way back to her house.

 The town of Tisnar

    As we are approaching the log house I can see the bear (Roloth) chopping wood. I call out to him, but he doesn¡¯t hear me. I¡¯m trying to get his attention when a deafening roar comes from beside me

    ¡°DAAAAAAAAAD¡± {Of}

    A high pitch noise is ringing in my ears. I think my ears have just been obliterated. I never liked music or the sound of birds anyway, who needs to hear, written communication is the future anyway. As I am holding my ears in a confused state Ofni is saying something to me but I can¡¯t hear.

    ¡°¡­Prudan¡± {Of}

    ¡°I SAID ARE YOU OKAY PRUDAN?¡± {Of}

    ¡°YES PERFECTLY FINE¡± {Pr}

    Before long the ringing in my ears stopped and I¡¯m able to regain my precious sense of sound. Phew I was getting scared. Ofni has a powerful voice; a lion¡¯s roar would sound like a kitty asking for milk in comparison. Roloth was now in front of me laughing heartily.

    ¡°Looks like you met my daughter, isn¡¯t she the most beautiful and deadly there is?¡± {Ro}

    ¡°Yeah my ears testify to her deadliness¡± {Pr}

    I feel an ominous presence behind me; the temperature seems to be falling drastically. Is that my breath turning into smoke? Out of the corner of my eye I see Ofni going for her sword, rage showing on her face.

    ¡°I¡¯m kidding, I¡¯m kidding¡± {Pr}

    She lifts her hand from the sword. My spirit returns to my body as time begins to turn again. I would much rather fight the gods and demons at the same time than anger her.

    ¡°hahaha, It¡¯s good to see you value your life. Keep that instinct it won¡¯t lead you astray¡± {Ro}

    Well Roloth it was nice knowing you. I will send flowers to your family. Well it¡¯s his family the one doing the killing so I guess I should only send flowers to the widow.

    While I¡¯m preparing the speech I will give in his funeral a shadow appears at his back, two red glowing dots filled with a murderous gaze shone in it.

    BONK!

    A clean hit to his head. The sound traveled to the deep reaches of the world. surprisingly he was still alive. His daughter the one who delivered the blow was walking away angrily.

    While holding his head with both hands he says.

    ¡°There¡¯s an unspoken rule in this house: never anger the women of this family!¡± {Ro}

    ¡°I will engrave that in my soul¡± {Pr}

    ¡°Looks like my girl isn¡¯t a baby anymore. That hit really put the hurt on me, could you please finish chopping the wood?¡± {Ro}

    Without answering I grab the axe and start lining up a wood block. After a few hours had passed the sky has been dyed red.

    ¡°Roro are you here?¡± {xxx}

    I hear the sound of a woman calling for someone. Soon a mature lady appears. She is the picture of the model housewife; she has a warm atmosphere around her that seems calming to me. Yet one could feel danger if one incurred her anger.

    ¡°Oh Prudan, I heard someone chopping wood and I thought it was my Roro. I¡¯m Agnis, Roloth¡¯s wife. I¡¯ve heard from my husband that you lost your memory; I¡¯m sorry to hear that. Also have you seen my husband?¡± {Ag}

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it I didn¡¯t like my past self either, if I did how could I forget me¡± {Pr}

    I say while laughing loudly. She responds making an awkward smile, looks like she isn¡¯t used to this kind of humor if it can be called that.

    ¡°Anyway your husband is sitting by those logs. He is recovering from incurring your daughter¡¯s fury.¡± {Pr}

    ¡°He never learns does he?¡± {Ag}

    As Agnis is helping Roloth into the house I resume my log chopping labor. Before night fall I finish with the pile. The aroma of soup mesmerizes me and forces me to walk to the house. Now that I think about it I haven¡¯t eaten anything since I woke up at noon.

    When I entered the cottage I see Ofni setting the table, the tableware is rough but what do you expect from a family living on the edge of a forest. Agnis is by the fire cooking what I can only describe as soul medicine. When Roloth sees me he points at me and says.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.¡°Looks like your cooking has attracted a starving wolf¡± {Ro}

    ¡°With such a perfume even the king might come¡± {Pr}

    ¡°You flatter me, but it works. Your portion will be bigger!¡± {Ag}

    As we take our seats around the table the family prays to some god I don¡¯t recognize. Fortunately they don¡¯t seem to mind that I don¡¯t worship that god. The meal, which started with the soup, washed away all my wariness and soothed my soul. Without fail I tell Agnis that she must be the goddess of healing. Once everyone finished their meal we start talking about current events. After some small talk they prepare a bed for me in a shed outside the house. The bed was essentially a hay pile with a blanket on top; these people are too nice if they ever need me for something I will be there unwavering.

    ¡°Hey wake up, its morning already¡± {Ro}

    A bear was poking me, eat me already don¡¯t play with your food. I turned around and tried to keep sleeping.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t wake up I¡¯ll call my daughter and tell her you are muttering her name¡± {Ro}

    I stood up as fast as lightning in an attention pose.

    ¡°Private Prudan is wide awake, Sir!¡± {Pr}

    ¡°Good! As promised after breakfast I¡¯ll take you to the town. The walk to town isn¡¯t too long just 2 hours¡± {Ro}

    Once we walked outside the shed Roloth points to the east.

    ¡°You see over there, that¡¯s the town of Tisnar. It doesn¡¯t have a guard post but you can ask Tito the merchant for a ride towards the city. He will always welcome a new guard for free¡± {Ro}

    I could see the town in the distance; it didn¡¯t seem so big maybe 100 ¨C 120 people were living there. After we had a breakfast that filled both my stomach and soul, we started packing pelts and firewood to be sold at the town onto a hand pulled cart.

    We set off towards the town, I¡¯m pulling the cart but since it isn¡¯t too heavy so I¡¯m seeing it as a workout. Also Roloth promised me some small amount of money in for pulling the cart so it works out. I didn¡¯t mention it before but besides what I¡¯m wearing and my mace I¡¯m penniless.

    Before long we reach the town, I can two thugs trying to do something to an elderly person. I hand the cart to Roloth and dash in the direction of what I assume are bandits.

    ¡°You were late with your payment two weeks in a row, so you must pay with your family or your property.¡± {Bandit 1}

    ¡°But this year¡¯s harvest was bad; I¡¯ve already given you all I can.¡± {Elderly}

    The bandits are reaching for their weapons the elderly man is looking around calling for help with his eyes. When the bandit was getting ready to strike the old man I decide to intervene, it wouldn¡¯t be good for my sleeping time if I let an innocent old man get murdered in front of me. I launch an ice bolt at the bandit that¡¯s closest to me. The bolt catching him completely by surprise buries itself in his neck. The other bandit is in a state of confusion, taking advantage of that I close the distance and let¡¯s just say tomato sauce was spread generously around.

    The old man looks around confused; he doesn¡¯t understand what just happened. I properly check these two are dead, they are no doubt about it. I turn to the old man he seems ok, in shock but fine. Once the old man regains himself he says in a grim tone.

    ¡°Thank you, but in saving me you have killed the town.¡± {Old man}

    I think I might, and this is just an idea, gotten myself involved in something big. Well for now I¡¯ll ask for details maybe this old man is blowing things out of proportion.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± {Pr}

    ¡°Those two you¡¯ve just killed are part of a band of marauders that have their base somewhere in that direction. They¡¯ve been extorting this town for protection money.¡±

    He pointed west, well I get the picture. Now the town can expect the marauders to try and raze the place in vengeance for the death of just two of their men. I guess I have no other option than to protect the town, hell I might even be able to get some money out of it. Whatever the case given that I put them in this position I must defend the town, but how would I do such a thing.

 I doomed your town, sorry?

    Roloth, the old man and I are walking towards the center of town. We are walking thru a residential area. The houses seem nice but not too remarkable; the people live well but not luxuriously. The people of town are full of life, I could hear laughing children wives happily chatting all in all the people of the town were rather lively. As we reach the central plaza we stand in front of either a small mansion or a big house. It seems to be the town hall and the mayor¡¯s house.

    When we enter we find ourselves in a rather big room with some chairs for waiting and a bell on the far side. The old man is heading for the bell while I¡¯m looking around.

    When the bell was rung a man came along. The man seems to be in his 50s, he seems healthy although the bags under his eyes suggest he¡¯s going thru some turbulent times. He goes towards the old man.

    ¡°Lemas what brings you to my humble abode?¡± {Mayor}

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s an emergency. This young man here while defending me killed two bandits from Missio¡¯s group.¡± {Old man}

    The mayor¡¯s expression turned stern, one could see smoke coming from the top of it. The mayor might die just from the stress of the situation I¡¯ve thrusted upon him, sorry my bad. He turns his gaze towards me; he probably expects an explanation and maybe a solution, sadly I only have one of those.

    ¡°Well, where do I start¡­¡± {Pr}

    ¡°Maybe from the begining¡± {Mayor}

    I tell the story to the mayor, the old man adds some details here and there but there isn¡¯t much to lie about. I don¡¯t regret my actions so no other option than to push forward. A question formed in my mind while explaining.

    ¡°What about the Lord, or kingdom can¡¯t they do anything about these marauders?¡± {Pr}

    ¡°Missio seems to have an arrangement with the current Lord of this hold, and as long as the taxes keep flowing the Lord doesn¡¯t care about us.¡± {Mayor}

    An idea was budding while I was explaining to the mayor, and after having my question answered it bloomed.

    ¡°So that is the state of things, huh. I might have a solution for this though.¡± {Pr}

    ¡°What is it? If you have a way, out with it!¡± {Mayor}

    ¡°Basically I¡¯ll raise a local militia formed from volunteers and defend the town along them¡± {Pr}

    ¡°If the lord won¡¯t defend you then I¡¯ll teach you to defend yourselves. Do you plan to continue living in fear of a group of outlaws?¡± {Pr}

    The room falls into silence, I need to push my option more strongly.

    ¡°Because this is sort of my mistake I¡¯ll defend the town for free; I only ask that the belongings of the bandits I kill be mine.¡± {Pr}

    The mayor looks at the old man, Roloth and finally me. As if he had given up he sighs.

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll ask for volunteers. Because you got us into this mess the town will keep a third of whatever you get from the bandits.¡± {Mayor}

    ¡°That is fine with me; we should have a couple of days to train as those two won¡¯t be immediately missed.¡± {Pr}

    Once the plan was accepted Roloth and I leave the hall, the mayor and the old man were discussing something. I got a decent deal out of it; they could have asked me to do it for free.

    ¡°Roloth you should do your business and leave town quickly. I wouldn¡¯t want you to get caught in this mess.¡±

    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!Anyhow Roloth has a wonderful family I vowed to protect. He should go on his merry way. If he gets injured by a bandit, well let¡¯s say I might turn into a bat and instill fear into the hearts of criminals.

    ¡°Ha I can¡¯t leave a youngster to fight by himself. I¡¯m also partly to blame for not stopping you, not that you did anything wrong.¡± {Ro}

    ¡°Do it for my peace of mind, I¡¯m confident I can handle it.¡± {Pr}

    After some back and forth he finally agreed. I¡¯ve said it once and I will say it again Roloth and his family are too nice.

    I hear the chime of a bell, its coming from the town center. When I arrive at the plaza a huge crowd had gathered, the mayor was in front of the town hall. The mayor in a loud voice calls for me, I make my way thru the crowd and stand at his side. He explains what happened so far and what my plan is. He skillfully tugs the heartstrings of the townsfolk; after all we need to the volunteers to be as motivated as possible.

    ¡°We will need volunteers, who will be trained by Prudan here to defend the town.¡± {Mayor}

    Ten brave souls step forward. A woman and nine men, most of them look like farmhands. Their bodies look fine, but it is painfully obvious that none of them ever held a weapon nor wielded magic. At least they have already developed working muscles and some endurance. It¡¯s better this way, blank slates without any bad habits and no magic element.

    The mayor tells everyone to disperse. The townsfolk go about their business, the earlier lively atmosphere is gone, now only grim looks are to be seen. A man with a strong build came over to me, he is wearing a leather apron and his hands are rugged. He introduces himself as the town¡¯s blacksmith. He then offers to make ten spears and shields for the recruits to use. He is keenly aware that equipment is likely to be the deciding factor. I also ask him if he has some helmets and something to protect the chest. Head protection is vital, before getting any other piece of armor you must always protect the head.

    As I round-up the volunteers, they look at me with expectant eyes. I¡¯ll only be teaching the basics to them; after all they only need to be able to protect the town from bandits, not a trained invasion force or legendary monsters.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be training you in the use of the spear and water magic. The reason for using the spear is simple. The weapon is common and doesn¡¯t require much training, as for water magic it¡¯s the element I¡¯m attuned to.¡± {Pr}

    I have the group run for about an hour most of them are panting heavily. Yes you might resent me now but stamina will help you in the long run. After they finish the limbering and strength exercises; I begin teaching the group the basic water chant. I plan on having them create ice javelins, because adding speed consumes mana they don¡¯t have, they¡¯ll throw the javelins themselves.

    ¡°Imagination and intention is everything in magic, if you can see it in your mind you can create it.¡± {Pr}

    I show them an ice javelin I created so that they have a clear image on their head. Two thirds manage to create rough-looking sticks, it¡¯s close enough. The remaining people who failed created what can only be called a toothpick. Looks like more training will be needed.

    At the end of the day everyone could make the javelins. They could produce around 3 javelins each which will come in handy in the looming battle. Next is training them in the use of said projectile some basic spear techniques. But it¡¯s already late so I tell them to return home, tomorrow will be combat training. I also tell them to continue the chanting practice whenever they can. Tomorrow I should also scout the bandits, depending on what I find I will create an appropriate strategy to deal with them.

 Recon and plans.

    After morning training the recruits were exhausted but happy. They took the drills fairly well and they show promise. They are able to cooperate properly and have a decent grasp on the basics. Some of the guys show real talent for magic. I¡¯ll teach them how to launch ice spikes so that we have more people who can attack from a distance. While I was teaching the new spell one of the guys asked me.

    ¡°Why do you use water magic, isn¡¯t fire more effective?¡± {Random volunteer}

    ¡°Funny you ask that, it¡¯s because¡­¡± {Pr}

    A sudden pain in my head, the smell of burning flesh is stings my nose, I can hear the squealing of some monster. I feel nauseated, disgusted with myself. The pain that is transmitted thru the squealing from the monster. What was that? It feels like I remembered something. The first monster I¡¯ve killed and the reason I don¡¯t use fire magic. People are gathering around me with concerned faces. I recompose myself and tell the people around me that I¡¯m alright.

    ¡°Prudan are you okay?¡± {Volunteers}

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. You asked why I don¡¯t use fire magic, right? Well the answer is simple, I don¡¯t use it because it causes unnecessary suffering.¡± {Pr}

    I¡¯m fine with killing a living being but not with making it suffer without reason. Ice magic might be less effective but it is also more merciful, well as merciful as it gets when you are trying to kill something. After regaining myself and expelling the sour memory I arrange my ideas once again. We meed to know the strength of what we are up against, their equipment and abilities.

    ¡°Does anyone know where I can get a horse?¡± {Pr}

    ¡°Why do you need a horse for?¡± {Man}

    ¡°I¡¯ll go scout the enemy and see how strong they are, Information is key in a fight after all.¡± {Pr}

    Maybe they are thinking I¡¯ll run away, I won¡¯t. Not after having trained these suckers. They seem convinced by what I¡¯ve just said. One of the volunteers ran somewhere, before long he returned with a horse. It had a saddle and was ready to go. Thank you person I¡¯ve trained, sorry but I forgot your name. You shall be known henceforth as Super helper! I left super helper in charge of the guys¡¯ training.

    I mounted the horse and started heading east as fast as possible. After riding for three hours my rear end is destroyed but at least, I¡¯ve sighted the enemy encampment. The bandit camp was rather small, it was surrounded by wooden stakes and I could see seven relatively large tents. People were talking and laughing, sharpening their weapons a relaxed feeling came from the camp. I think I see a barrel of ale!  I have decided, we must raid these bandits and liberate the innocent and godly beverage. Most of the men in the camp don¡¯t seem particularly trained nor do they seem to know magic. I also notice the lack of horses, there are some but not enough for every bandit.

    I turned around and returned to the town. It should take the bandits around sixteen hours or so of constant walking to get to the town. They were preparing for something, so maybe we have two days before they arrive. This is great news, it means we can fine tune the recruits a little more perhaps even carry out a surprise attack on the bandit camp. If Super helper did a good job, I¡¯ll promote him to second in command.

    On my way back I see a small hill-top which would be a good place for setting up camp. It is also an excellent place to ambush thanks to the forest that is nearby. It would make sense to set up camp here. It¡¯s not too far from town and, by the time they reach this place  they should be exhausted by the march .

    Once I was back in town the recruits came to see me, it seems Super helper earned his promotion. I told them the general situation and what to expect. I haven¡¯t yet decided what to do. Should I defend here or ambush the bandits while they make their way. Fighting here would make the recruits more motivated, but if we fight near the town casualties are unavoidable. I¡¯m inclined to ambushing them, they have numbers on their side plus they don¡¯t expect any resistance from the town. Yup, I¡¯ve decided we are ambushing them at the hill-top.

    I tell the mayor my plan and ask for funds. I¡¯ll need to buy some things for the upcoming battle. The mayor recommends me to go buy whatever I need from the local merchant Tito.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯ve heard that you have various things for sale.¡± {Pr}

    ¡°You sir are well-informed! What can I do for you?¡± {Tito}

    ¡°I was looking for these¡­¡± {Pr}

    After I finished shopping, I have twenty small pots and forty liters of oil. Looks like I¡¯ll be using fire after all. Well it doesn¡¯t matter in this case it is necessary.

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.The next day the recruits and I are marching towards the forest that¡¯s near the hill-top. After arriving I set a rotation for keeping watch in the direction of the bandit camp. I have the rest practice launching their javelins with a weight on the tip. Also I teach them how produce a small flame with magic. Most of them have puzzled looks on their faces, they don¡¯t understand what¡¯s the purpose of this training.

    ¡°Why are we doing this? what for?¡± {Volunteer 2}

    ¡°I have a plan, and you¡¯ll need to what you just learned to carry it out.¡± {Pr}

    Super helper came back from his post, it was the end of his shift, he was watching east for bandits. I¡¯ve found that he can relied on. The fact that I made him a second in command makes it more awkward to reveal that I¡¯ve forgotten his name. I¡¯ve gotten by for now by addressing him by his position or some other proxy.

    ¡°Second, do you have something to report?¡± {Pr}

    ¡°No, there is nothing to report.¡± {SH}

    In all my ingenuity I craft a cunning plan. All I need is to get someone around me to call him by his name and bam! I avoid an embarrassing situation.

    ¡°Well then, check how the rest of the guys are doing¡± {Pr}

    After nodding he goes to where the rest of the group is resting. This is it! my chance.

    ¡°Hey second!¡± {Guy 3}

    ¡°How are you doing Vin? Is everything alright?¡± {SH}

    No why do you call him second, use his name dammit! He is your friend isn¡¯t he why don¡¯t you use his name, isn¡¯t it weird to call him second?

    That pattern repeated for the remaining people. In the end I couldn¡¯t learn his name, my expression has fallen into despair as my plan crashed and burned. Noticing this Super helper or second in command came to me.

    ¡°You seem worried about something¡­ Is it about the battle with the bandits?¡± {SH}

    What? which bandits? Oh right we are here to fight bandits or something along those lines. I can¡¯t let him know that I forgot about that and that I¡¯m depressed for some stupid reason. So I stayed in silence.

    ¡°You are a good leader Prudan, not two days ago we didn¡¯t even know how to cast a spell. Now look at us, we can beat them!¡± {SH}

    He tries to cheer me up but that¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about! He really is a great guy too bad I forgot his name. If I ask him, I¡¯ll lose face; so I¡¯ll play it cool.

    ¡°Tell me second, after this is over what do you plan to do?¡± {Pr}

    What am I even saying; it¡¯s not like we are going off to war or to fight a dragon. Yes, there are dragons in this world of mine, and there is apparently a huge debate about how to call them, nothing to do with me though. Anyway I feel a bad foreboding feeling from what I¡¯ve just said as if I had condemned him to death. When I turn to him he looks to be deep in thought.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to leave the town and see the world, so maybe I¡¯ll do that. What about you?¡± {SH}

    ¡°I was on my way to the capital of this hold to get an adventuring permit from the guards when I got caught up in this mess.¡± {Pr}

    Then second looks at me with sparkling eyes.

    ¡°If I survive this, could you take me with you?¡± {SH}

    Whoa! It is bad luck to say those words before a fight. Do you want to die? That aside I don¡¯t mind taking him with me. He is able and travelling is better done with company.

    ¡°Sure, but first comes the fight.¡± {Pr}

    He looks motivated, even more than before. The next day I was still trying to force a situation where his name would be said but I failed. When the sun was setting the person on watch came back and reported that she saw the bandit group. Perfect timing, we hide in the forest and wait. Just as I expected they set up camp in the hill. Thankfully my strategic skill isn¡¯t as bad as my socializing skill.

 Well at least Iéˆ¥æªe got health.

    As night fell we watched the group of twenty bandits set up camp. They were laughing, talking about what they¡¯ll do to the townsfolk and other such crude themes. There was a particular part where they were talking about the women they would take, apparently someone dropped the name of a granny. A dead awkward silence fell. I know we will kill you but you have my empathy anonymous bandit.

    What is important however, is that the bandits were drinking ale or some sort of alcoholic beverage. As the night carried on they started to fall asleep, most of them drunk. This is going to be easier than I thought; they didn¡¯t even bother to post a watchman and are merrily sleeping.

    I readied the guys, filled the pots with oil and fixed them on the points of the ice javelins. Though there is still a grave matter not resolved. The success of this mission depends on that fact. It will be the difference between glorious victory and humiliating defeat. That is I still don¡¯t know Second¡¯s name!

    With my mind otherwise engaged the guys took position surrounding the camp, waiting for my signal. See this is why Second is so good with a vague order he took an excellent ambushing position.

    I took a pot filled with oil, lighted it on fire and threw it towards the bandits. As soon as the pot left my hand, javlins lit on fire were raining onto the camp. The bandits awaken by the fire and the screams of their burning comrades are in a state of confusion. After the third volley was thrown we charged them. Because of their drunken state, the fire and our overwhelming charge the battle finished before it began.

    In the aftermath of the battle, I only killed two bandits. That poses a problem my reward is only two-thirds of the belongings of bandits I slay, so my reward is puny. And I still don¡¯t know Seconds name why must you punish me so mother nature!

    Dawn was breaking by the time we finished cleaning and looting the bandits, among the bodies none of them struck me as the leader of the group. He must have stayed in the camp, in that case we need to raid it. The two I killed only had rusty  swords and shoddy padded armor. How unsuccessful were these bandits to have such crappy equipment?. The guys were happily chatting and boasting about the previous fight.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you are happy people but now we have to follow thru and attack the bandits camp.¡± {Pr}

    They looked at me with surprised expressions.

    ¡°What do you expect, we need to follow thru and finish them off.¡± {Pr}

    The group nodded and accepted the idea. That said walking over there is going to be a pain and also their numbers have been thinned quite a bit. I¡¯ll take a couple of guys on horse with me to attack the camp. Because there are only five horses I took Second in command and the three  most advanced magic users.

    We reached the camp and apparently the fires in the night were seen here, because of that they were preparing the defenses. We dismounted, tied the horses to a stake we lied on the ground and made our approach.

    There are only five bandits so a full frontal assault should be fine. I can see a person on look out. We approach while trying to stay hidden as much as possible. Before we got in range of my ice magic the watchman shouted the alarm. Well sneaking is for cowards anyway, a real man lets the enemy prepare. The bandits scrambled, we quickly formed a line. The bandits stood around fifty meters away from us, in the center there was a man who clearly was the leader.

    The leader was wearing a metal helm and  chain mail covered his body. Figures he would hog the best equipment for himself. He had a sabre, that is going to be problematic. Fortunately he didn¡¯t have a shield so I should stay at range. The rest of them aren¡¯t really worth mentioning some have fur armor and all of them have axes, aside from the leader we shouldn¡¯t have any problems.

    I launch an ice spike at the leader and we charge them head on, because it is a five versus five there aren¡¯t many tactics to apply. The fight essentially turns into a series of individual fights, with me taking the leader on.

    I¡¯ll spare you the details of the fight as the only thing decent about the leader was his equipment. His technique was notorious for its absence, he was just swinging wildly hoping to connect, and his magic could have been bested by a toddler. There was though a decisive event in one of the other fights. Something that made my day a whole lot brighter. Second in command got injured, mind you it was fairly light but because of that the girl adept in magic that I brought shouted his name.

    ¡°ODALCET!!¡± {Girl}

    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.Second in command, rather Odalcet was bleeding from the cut on his arm. The cut was rather superficial, there wasn¡¯t a need for such drama. Perhaps this girl has some interest in our gallant hero.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯m fine it just grazed me.¡± {Od}

    Yes! I got his name, engraved it in my soul. I have avoided burning in the fires of awkwardness, mother nature smiles on me!

    We took everything and anything that we could carry in the bandit camp and putted it in our saddles. I grabbed the ale keg; it will be sacrificed to the townsfolk to safeguard my other earnings. Because I started to get bored on the way back I started talking.

    ¡°So given that we survived and you¡¯ve seen actual combat, do you still want to accompany me?¡± {Pr}

    As I said that the girl looked at me with darkened eyes. Wait is she jealous? I have to exploit this! Ocladet answered while a mischievous smile drew on my face.

    ¡°¡­Yes, after all it¡¯s only interesting because there is danger.¡±{Od}

    ¡°¡­But¡­ we¡­¡± {Girl}

    The girl muttered something neither of us could hear.

    ¡°You can¡¯t take him away from¡­ me¡­ I mean from the village!¡± {Girl}

    ¡°Calm down Eve. I¡¯m not essential to the town, besides it is not like I¡¯m leaving forever.¡±{Od}

    ¡°¡­but¡­¡± {Eve}

    Okay, I¡¯ll have to intervene here. All this sugar and honey is starting to erode my soul. I began to open my mouth and froze half way. The girl, no Eve was glaring daggers at me don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t steal your darling.

    ¡°Then how about this, Eve do you want to come with us?¡± {Pr}

    Both of them stared at me with surprised expressions. What about is so weird about it? She is a capable fighter, and I don¡¯t want to be stabbed because I stole darling hero.

    ¡°But it will be dangerous, I can¡¯t have Eve face danger¡± {Od}

    Oh, the damsel is blushing gallant hero but if we don¡¯t take her with us I will be in danger.

    ¡°She is a capable fighter, besides the more the merrier safety in numbers and all that. You¡¯ll also be able to experience new adventures together.¡± {Pr}

    The last part was attentively catched by Eve. She was now looking at me with sparkling eyes. I also feel as is she is saying good job but that might just be my imagination.

    ¡°Well, you either take me with you or stay here¡± {Eve}

    She sent an ultimatum. Odalcet was getting cornered; I don¡¯t know the relationship between these two but apparently he can¡¯t say no to Eve. Okay with three people we have a decent group for adventuring, sadly though they are not very experienced.

    Once we reached the town the rest of the guys welcomed us with cheers and fanfare. The town chief came to me with a surprised expression, not a relieved one but one that expressed that we would never come back alive.

    I hand over all the stuff I had from the bandits. I sold all the stuff to Tito in the end it all amounted to 150 Caes, yay money. The Caes is a silver-ish coin which the image of a rooster on one side and a royal seal on the other. It appears to be the only coin in this country. Though only 100 Caes reached my hand damn. Well it is something at least. Tito told me that I could live for about a two weeks with that.He agreed to having us escort him to the city this weekend.

    Once the weekend arrived I left for the plaza where Eve, Odalcet and I arranged to meet with Tito before departing. I found Eve and Odalcet; they were saying their goodbyes to their respective parents. Eve¡¯s mother came over to me and said.

    ¡°She is taken so you better not try anything.¡± {Eve¡¯s mom}

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not dumb enough to try¡± {Pr}

    ¡°Good. I entrust you to keep them from harm, if you can bring them closer too¡± {Eve¡¯s mom}

    ¡°I don¡¯t do matchmaking for free though.¡± {Pr}

    She winked at Odalcet¡¯s parents and they returned a smile at me. So the only one who doesn¡¯t realize he is already married is Second huh. Poor sucker, at least he gets to explore the world with a cute girl and a dashing mace wielding kind-hearted man. That is me I¡¯m describing by the way stop laughing some of those adjectives fit me. We set off towards the city.

 The journey to Osnec.

    This one took a little longer to make because I wrote myself into a corner. Now it''s to my liking so enjoy and sorry for the delay.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As we parted from the families of Odalcet and Eve we took position alongside the cart full of wares that Tito was riding. Tito told us that at a walking speed the capital of the hold was 4 days and 3 nights away. The city of Osnec was ruled by the Rignar family; they''ve been ruling these lands for three generations. I didn''t know nor cared much about the politics of this country so most of the info about them slipped my mind shortly after. Apparently the current lord is quite young having inherited the spot after the early death of his parents.

    After travelling on a dirt road for a while we encountered a paved highway. It was made of tightly  packed square stones, apparently this was a mayor trade route as we drew  closer to the capital the number of waggons, carriages and people increased.

    While we encountered a few wild beats here and there we were never really in danger. Odalcet it seems likes being in the thick of things as such he has focused on improving his skills with polearms. He has taken a liking to using a halberd he picked up in a town on the way here, while Eve saying she doesn''t like the idea of blood spraying on her decided to use magic as her main weapon. She has a dagger though as a last resort.

    We are currently staying at a town along the highway, it''s the night of the second day of our journey. We should arrive the day after tomorrow, up until now nothing noteworthy happened. There was an incident when Eve tried to get Odalcet drunk but fortunately nothing serious happened. I wonder what plan did she conceive in her mind. On an unrelated note I''ve decided never to cross Eve.

    I returned to the inn after a walk, the lady on the counter welcomed me with a smile. I guess when your livelihood depends on being nice you learn to fake it for anyone. The inn was unremarkable not good but not bad either, for a traveller staying a night it was just right and cheap too. Because we are Tito''s escort he is paying for food and lodging, after we reach the capital he''ll get new escorts.

    "Hey kiddo what are you doing here" {Patron}

    One of the patrons of the inn is talking to me. He looks like he is in his fifties, he has short white hair and a beard. His blushed cheeks tell me he either had some drinks or is in love with me. I hope it''s the first one.

    "I''m escorting a merchant." {Pr}

    "Best be careful then, a merchant came by some days ago and he was battered. He said he was attacked by a monster and that his escort and cargo was lost." {Patron}

    "Oh my, I too heard that story; He said he was attacked by human looking frogs. it is probably best if you stay in town until the army deals with it, it should only take some days."{Inn lady}

    I don¡ät know if it is concern or she is just trying to get us to stay so that we pay for more days, either way it is not up to me to decide.

    "I appreciate the concern, I''ll tell my employer what he thinks." {Pr}

    I went to Tito''s room after knocking twice he let me in. The room was rather simple. It had a bed, a nightstand and not much else. In terms of size it was on the small side but by no means cramped. Odalcet and I were sleeping in the same room, when the arrangements were decided eve looked at me as if trying to take my soul. I would have gladly traded places but Odalcet refused saying an unmarried maiden shouldn''t sleep in the same room with a man. Eve the road ahead of you is rocky!

    "Don''t just stand there in silence. Why did you come here?" {Tito}

    His words made me come back to reality, right why was I here for again?

    "I forgot why I came. I have a feeling it was important."{Pr}

    "I''m glad you''re in charge of escort and not schedule, otherwise we might end up forgetting our destination!"{Tito}

    "Ah, right! A merchant was attacked by frog monsters along the highway apparently." {Pr}

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.After I said that he fell into silence, stroking his chin. He was clearly thinking about what should be done next.

    "Mmmm... Do you think you guys can handle them?" {Tito}

    That is a tough question. It boils down to numbers though. Frogmen are relatively weak alone but quantity has a quality of its own. I suddenly felt like a totalitarian leader took possession of my thoughts, scary.

    "If there are less than thirty of them we could somehow manage but you should be ready to ditch the wares and run." {Pr}

    Frogmen are essentially bipedal frogs standing around 1.50 meters tall, in their environment they are dangerous but on solid land they lose a lot of advantages.  fortunately frogmen are cowardly so they don''t attack unless they are sure of their victory. It should be alright fifty or more frogmen is not something that wouldn''t be noticed so I''m fairly sure it is within what we can manage. I also seem to be in to notch condition, after the fight with the bandits I didn''t even break a sweat.

    "We will set off tomorrow, there are goods that can spoil in the cart so time is of the essence." {Tito}

    I told Eve and Odal the situation and to be prepared for combat.  They had serious expressions, but they were ready for whatever came their way.

    "It''s not a do or die fight if the fight starts drifting against us we can always run. Anyway we are fighting frogmen so I doubt it''ll be difficult." {Pr}

    "What about the other merchant, his escorts were killed weren''t they?" {Od}

    "Yeah, but they were ambushed. We on the other hand are expecting a fight. Not many people expect to encounter a monster along the road so they are often relaxed."{Pr}

    I told a lie, there is no way I know how the other group got defeated nor how safe the road is. It seems the lie did its job as their faces were a bit relieved. A white lie never hurt anybody and it won''t help if they are too nervous.

    The next morning we left the town after checking our equipment. I''m in front of the waggon, Odal is to the left while Eve covers the right flank. We spent some time walking when we see a forest to the right, that''s probably the place where the other guys got ambushed. I signaled Tito to stop and called the guys to me.

    "Okay, I''ll scout ahead a bit you two stay here protecting Tito." {Pr}

    "Yes, if anything happens we are here." {Od}

    I walked ahead, cautiously checking around for sings of the enemy. I could only hear the sounds of the forest and my heart beating fast, being bait for an ambush sure is an exhilarating experience.

    So far so good, after going ahead twenty meters there was still no sign of enemies. I''m honestly relieved but I can''t let my guard down yet. After having advanced some more the forest has gone deathly quiet. The birds that could clearly be heard chirping just a few minutes ago have gone silent as if it was just my imagination that they ever existed.

    I feel a presence behind me. It''s getting closer, it might be my imagination but I feel a piercing stare on my back.

    As I turn around the sound of powerful legs being uncoiled reaches me. I''m preparing an ice bolt and brandishing my mace, whatever it is I won''t go down without a fight.

    "Croak." {xxx}

    When I finished doing the turn I saw the monster with my heart on my throat I let out a sigh. It was just a frog!

    I was almost driven into an early grave by a frog. I lifted my mace in anger but I couldn''t kill the innocent animal. The frog of course had no idea what was going on and kept leaping without a care in the world.

    Fortunately the rest of the journey was uneventful, the frogman menace that we learned about in the town was dealt with by the guards a delegation that was passing thru on its way back. We reached the city, after 4 days travel, without a problem.

 A misunderstanding in the city of Osnec.

    The provincial capital was surrounded by tall walls, which were surprisingly neat. This province seems to be fairly peaceful. It seems that the city is far from the more belligerent neighbors of the kingdom.

    Because we were escortingTito we entered the city without much trouble, the guards seem to be familiar with him. The perks of being a merchant I guess. We went to an average lookinginn, after he had sold his wares of course. Because we were tired from the journey we''ve decided to go to the guard''s barracks tomorrow.

    Once again Eve stared daggers at me for sleeping in the same room asOdalcet, I tell you I don''t like men! Also how do you know he''s not after me, he is certainly not after you. I better not say that considering I like to stay alive or at the very least I don''t want a gory death.

    Now that I''m rested I''m can appreciate the city more. I appear to be in some sort of central market there are merchants shouting advertising their wares. Housewives haggling with their sweat and blood, a soldier on a battlefield wouldn''t guard his life as much as these valiant women guard their household budget. There are people coming and going, nothing like the atmosphere inTisnar. This feels like a proper city.

    We headed to the barracks at a leisurely pace, Eve was trying her best to getodalcet''sattention; the blockhead on the other hand was looking around amazed at the splendor before him. The people we passed by all didn''t seem distressed we are at a time of peace apparently.

    I''ve been wondering in the past few days, mind you its a small matter. It will definitely not have any impact on my current situation but what does an adventurer do?

    Do adventurers have a guild? Are they independent? As we were getting closer to the barracks my doubts, that I had pushed to the back of my mind, started to resurface. Well I guess I''ll find out right now as we''ve just reached the barracks.

    At the door there''s a guard. He is wearing a blue surcoat with a black rose in the chest area. The black rose isOsnecsor rather the lords symbol. When he sees us approaching he speaks to us.

    "What business do you have with the exalted guards ofOsnec?" {Guard}

    "We came here to register as adventurers."{Pr}

    The guard thinks for a while and then nods.

    "Very well follow me." {Guard}

    He waves his hand indicating us to follow him, and proceeds to go inside the stone building. Inside he led us to a room with some chairs and said.

    "Wait here the sergeant, the one in charge of these things will be with you shortly." {Guard}

    "Thanks, have a good day."{Pr}

    He smiles slightly and nods then he leaves. Before long a bulky man with a stout mustache arrives at the room and talks to us.

    "I''ve been told you want to register, I''m a busy man so let''s make this quick" {XXX}

    according to the bars in his surcoat, and the way he''s talking I guess its safe to say he''s the sergeant. Eve andOdalcetlook at me expecting me to take the lead.

    "Yes we three are here to register, what do we have to do?" {Pr}

    He takes some papers, ink and a quill from a drawer and starts asking me some questions.

    "Ok this is the registration form, you will have to answer some questions and pay a fee after that you are aproved."{Sg}

    "Is it possible to fail?"{Pr}

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "Not really after all the questions are just for having the information there are no requirements to start a guild." {Sg}

    So we can''t fail great, now its just a question of how much it costs to register.

    "How much is the fee?" {Pr}

    "It''s 125caes" {Sg}

    Ahhhmy whole fortune I had 100 from selling the loot and Tito paidus 30caeseach for our escorting services. I''m left with 5 caes oh poverty how I missed you. As the man I am I held the tears that were about to flow like wild river from my eyes.

    "Name of the company?" {Sg}

    Name of the company? is that like an adventurer alias?

    "What do you mean by company name, we are here to register as adventurers"{Pr}

    "Son, at the barracks we register companies or guilds if you want to register as an adventurer you have to get in contact with a guild."{Sg}

    mmm... that makes sense I guess, well now that we are already here we might as well create a company. If we join a random guild we don''t know what could happen this way at least we can set our own rules.

    The sargeant looks at me and prompts me to answer.

    "So, will you register as a company?"{Sg}

    "Yes, there''s nothing to lose anyways."{Pr}

    "Okay, keep in mind that there''s a yearly tax on companies its about 500 caes for those that are under 20 members, after that it goes up by 250 caes every ten members. Being registered in this barracks means that once per month you have to submit a report of your activities and numbers."{Sg}

    After that we quickly finished the procedure, the name of the brand new company is "The Azure Hare". The name caused the two of my ever so loyal followers to giggle, I will remember this.

    I wonder what has to be done if we want to move the company to another city or expand our reach, questions for the future. Future Prudan do your best, goddess knows I won''t.

    Anyway our first priority is to get a job whatever it might be my pockets are empty. I''ve decided to roll with it, who knows it might be interesting. Because our guild is new I doubt anyone would trust us with anything important so we only can get low paying monotonous jobs or highly dangerous ones where they need meat shields. Personally I would rather avoid the dangerous ones.

    "Are there any task that we can do?"{Pr}

    "We are currently in need of people to clean undead in the northern plains.The undead aregetting dangerously close to the farmlands so we need people to take care of them, if you take this job a guardsman will keep tally of how many you kill. There will be several other groups so far we have 142 people on this. The price for each undead is 2 caes."{Sg}

    That sounds about right. Undead aren''t really a threat if you are not surrounded, they have the abilities of a fatally wounded human after all. No one know why they rise they behave like animals chasing anything that''s living, all we know is that they rise in places where a great loss of live occurred. It makes waging a long war a rather suicidal enterprise. Some say its a curse a goddess sent because the human she fell in love with died in battle.

    Although the only way to kill them is to destroy the head because they are dead theirmoventsare slow at best. So easy money!

    "Count us in, when does the job start?"{Pr}

    "You are one of the last groups 5 more people and we are full but with this amount we can safely start tomorrow. We are departing tomorrow at noon, be at the norther gate by then." {Sg}

    I tell them theinnwhere we are staying and we depart. Now we will need some provisions like dried food, water, something to care for our weapons in the field and some camping equipment. The northern plains, according to the people I''ve asked in the street, are passing the farmlands less than 4 hours away at a walking pace.

    Although I''m poor at the moment the other two have some money so I''ll have to "borrow" a bit from them. I will return the money of course, in the future that is. I also have to get a good relationship with inns all around the province, after all when someone is looking for information one turns to an inn. If that inns happens to like us we might get further job offers because the inn recommended us.

    A long day is ahead of us so we head back to the inn, Tito generously paidfor the inn for 2 more nights. After arriving at the inn and having dinner I collapsed on the bed.

 First day of the hunt.

    At the crack of dawn I woke the gang up, we had a quick breakfast. It isgoing to be a busy day. The market place although open was relatively deserted. It makes sense though as it is very early.

    The rising sun signaled the start of a life or death struggle. The haggle wars! I''m not going to pay a single coin more than I have to. I can''t to be honest I''m broke. Odalcet and Eve have their money but I can''t borrow any of it if I am to maintain my reputation.

    Okay what do I need? Food? no I''ll forage on the spot. Some oils for the mace that is going to run me 1 caes. Assorted vegetables 2 caes gone. My heart cries at every purchase.

    The worst part was the bedroll. After pleading, beggingfor mercy and gods know what else I formed a crack in the heart of the woman who sold leather wares, she agreed to accept an IOU for one caes, my dignity took a hit but I can sleep with an acceptable degree of comfort. Poverty my old friend we meet again, huh you brought your friend debt how nice of you; after all misery loves company.

    after having my soul crushed by my circumstances once again I went back to the inn to wait for Odalcet and eve to come back.

    Once reunited, sometime before noon, we headed to the gate where a young guard with light hair stood. He seemed rather inexperienced and was glancing at his surroundings. When he saw us with a bright smile he came over. Wait is he really a he? his(?) features were rather fair and his face had a soft and warm feeling to it.

    Shaking the weird thoughts from my head I extend my hand to salute him.

    "Hello, my name is Prudan. Are you a part of the subjugation force?"

    He/she from now on refered to as guard grabbed my hand with a relatively light grip. Guard''s hands are really soft.

    With a flustered face guard says.

    "Ah, yes... I''m Fir. I will be guiding and keeping score on this subjugation. It seems everyone is here we should go soon."

    So guard''s name is Fir, well lets introduce the gang.

    "Right, these two behind me are Eve and Odalcet."

    The two of them raise a hand and wave when I mention them. I will tell some vital advise to guard so that there are no tragedies in our future, I lean in to whisper.

    "If you value your life stay away from Odalcet, else Eve will have your head."

    Firlooks at me with fearful eyes, I guess I should clear Eve''s name.

    "She''s a good person and reliable too just don''t get between her and Odalcet."

    Fir nods, looks like the situation was understood. I mean I would hate to have a murder in my hands, especially so if I could have prevented it.

    With the introductions and warnings out-of-the-way we made our way to the plains north of the city. Vast rolling hills filled with crops and farmers fill our vision. These farms are the life blood of the city, although the city can hold for a couple of months in a siege it wouldn''t be pretty.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    After two hours of walking we reached the northernmost farmhouse, along the way Fir explained how this job would be carried out. There''s around 150 people taking part in this subjugation. We are divided in groups of 10 people and assigned an area to clean. The areas are around 1 acre per group. If we clean our area too quickly we can join the subjugation on the areas next to us. With this system groups can also help each other. Our group is currently on the western flank of the subjugation force, being the newest and smallest one. There are seven other people staying at this farmhouse with us, they are from a guild called "Legendary Dawn".

    Apparently Legendary dawn has 40 people participating in this, and according to Fir they are renowned in the city although their services are a bit expensive. They all had decent equipment, four of them had a spear and a shield while the rest looked like magicians. Although they were well equipped with armor and everything they seemed inexperienced, at most having gone thru some training.

    "Lucky us, now that they''ve grouped us with them we will surely return with the most zombie kills."

    And of course they completely underestimated us, they didn''t even mean to insult us. Because we have a whole acre for the ten of us I will ignore them. The guard that was in charge of our area was Fir. apparently they aren''t expecting too much action in this sector so they left Fir in charge.

    We are currently staying at the barn of the farmhouse, the farmers let us stay because they know we are here to kill all the zombies, besides most of the people here are from the city so they are hardly strangers.

    At first light Fir woke everyone up and we decided how we should face the upcoming task. To put it simply it went like this.

    "We will advance while killing the zombies anyone disagrees?"

    ""No.""

    That was all the strategy involved. To be fair we are cleaning up not facing an organized army. We have to bring the ears of all the zombies we kill so that Fir can tally them up. And so we set off the legendary (pfff) guys would take the east while we would advance on the west.

    "Prudan, to kill a zombie we must damage the head right?"

    "Yes, a useful tactic is getting their legs first so that you can smash their head in when they are on the ground."

    Our first encounter wasn''tanything a bard would sing about, we encountered around 7 zombies shambling across a field. Eve and Odalcet were unsettled at the decaying bodies but recomposed themselves after I called their names. With a mix of Ice bolts and a bit of hand to hand combat we dispatched them fairly easy. After that they started to get their technique down and we got relatively good at killing the walking corpses. By the time we decided to return to the barn we had collected 50 ears. The fact that while being in the outermost region of the subjugation and we still managed to get this many didn''t escape me.

    When we returned to the barn we were greeted by a Fir having a rather concerned face. The legendary guys were all huddled together apparently one got injured, should have trained more bragged less.

    "Fir, what happened?"

    "The number of undead is higher than we thought, the center encountered a legion. They are requesting support and also now you will be paid regardless of zombies killed. Every participant that survives this subjugation will be paid 600 caes."

    mmm... where could all these undead come from, doesn''t matter right now though we need to secure this flank. Looks like this will turn into a meat grinding job. Fir continued talking about the new orders.

    "Right now the horde is some distance away. The plan is to have the flanks push harder while the center holds to envelop and then destroy the undead horde."

    "So we will start pushing towards the east while regrouping with the groups that are in the way?"

    "Yes, that is the idea. We should also try to cover as much ground as we can so that no zombies slip thru."

    "Okay, from now on we will stay together, with spears and mages we have a reach advantage over them, we are also faster."

    Everyone nods, the earlier relaxed mood is gone we all know we are in for a rough ride.

    The next morning we started sweeping eastwards.